Sanitary and antiseptic sputum cup



Jan. 2, 1934. M. w. sT. .JOHN

SANITARY AND ANTISEPTIC SPUTUM CUP Filed Jan. 23, 1933 Patented Jan. 2, 1934 PATENT OFFICE.

1,941,635 SANITARY AND ANTISEPTIC SPTUM CUP Mary Wood St. John, lMount Vernon, N. JY., as-

signor to Roy Irving Barnett,-Lynbrook, Long Island, N. Y.

Application January23', 1933. Serial No. 653,089

1 Claim.

The object of my invention is the production of a continuous sequence of interlocking sanitary and antiseptic sputum cups or receptacles, combiningsafety, simplicity, cheapness and novelty,

5 for use by those who are victoms of tuberculosis,

or of other diseases which are communicable from sputum, to be used in combination with a sanitary and antiseptic container as hereinafter specifically described.

'Ihe sequence of said interlocking sputum cups is so constructed, that as one is used, and is thereupon securely covered by the ap, and so hermetically sealed, another such cup and another such flap are at once exposed and ready for use.

The first cup is not to be used for deposit therein of sputum. 'Ihe exposed ap is to be at once inserted therein. The next cup and ap thereupon exposed, are the rst to be used. Thereafter, as each of the successive cups is used, its ap is to be inserted in said first cup, and over and upon the iiap next before deposited therein, thus increasingly augmenting the sanitary condition of cumulative successive layers of dry, sanitary and antiseptic ilaps.

After a deposit of sputum in the said second cup, the exposed flap of antiseptic paper is simply turned over and across the top of the used sputum cup and into the aforesaid rst cup, with the re- 30 sult that the used cup is thus hermetically and sanitarily sealed, and another sanitary and antiseptic sputum cup and ap are exposed and ready for use.

I attain these objects in manner as hereinafter described, and as illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which Figure I is the under, or original sheet of five perfectly square sheets of absorbent, disinfected and antiseptic paper which may be '7 X '7 inches on each side. The size and number of the sheets may be decreased or increased as may be desired.

The continuous nest of sputum cups is formed in manner as follows:

45 I. The left diagonal half of the upper left quarter of the original under sheet is folded front- Ward on the line H to E, so that the point A meets the center of said sheet at B. f

II.` The left diagonal half of the lower left quar- 501 ter of said sheet, is folded backward on the line I-I to F, so that the point D (shown in Fig. 2) meets the under center of said sheet at B.

III. The lower right diagonal half of the lower right quarter of said sheet is folded backward on vg' the line F to J, so that the point C (shown 'in Fig. 2) meets the under center of said sheet at HBH' IV. The four remaining perfectly square sheets are then laid upon the aforesaid under sheet, the upper right corner and angle of said sheets 60 squarely meeting the corner and angle of the under sheet at G, The lower half of all the ve sheets is thereupon folded upward and along the line H to J and over theupper half of said sheets, so that the corner D (shown in Fig. 2) 65 is superimposed upon the corner A (shown in Fig. 1) is superimposed upon the corner G, thus forming a parallelogram of said folded sheets and exposing two aps of the original and lowest, the corners thereof being C and D meeting at B, F meeting E, as shown in Fig. 1.

V. The left half of said folded sheets is then folded over and upon the right half, and along the line B F as shown in Fig. 2, with a l resulting formation of a square of said folded sheets, as shown in Fig. 3. Y

When so folded, it will be found that the diagonal halves of both the lower left, and the lower right quarters ofthe original lowest sheet are brought in contact with the upper left quarter folded diagonally on the line H-.E so that its point A meets the center of the sheet alt HB.

It also shows the lower left and the lower right quarters of said sheet each folded backward, under itself, so that each corner meets the center of the sheet at B.

1As so folded only the upper right quarter of said sheet remains unfolded.

Fig. 2 shows Fig. 1, after the remaining four 90 square sheets have been superimposed upon the original under sheet, so that the upper right corner and angle of all ve sheets squarely meet the corner and angle of the original under sheet at G, and have been then folded upward and along H-J, and over the upper halves of said sheets so that the corner D (when not upturned) meets the corner C at B,

Fig. 2 also shows the under side of the corner D on which appears mucilage with which it is mucilaged to the inward turned flap which underlies B-J-F. This is effected by first folding Fig. 2 upon itself along the line F`-B.

Fig.,3 shows Fig. 2V after the flap F-H- D has been folded over and mucilagedr to the over-folded part of the ap F-C-J.

The upper part of Fig. 3 consists of the two series of fiaps, between which series and separating and interlocking them, are the two flaps firmly mucilaged together as above described.

each fap -into the first exposed cup and lso cov-4 ering the top of the last and of all the other used cups. Having been fully used, it is now ready to be burned.

VI. The left hand fiap F-H-D, is thereupon folded over the right hand flap F-J-C,

along the line F-J, and is mucilaged theretoV with mucilage shown on D, with the result, that the corner D meets B at the center of the folded sheets, and the line H to F is superimposed upon the line F to J, thus forming a square as shown in Fig. 3.

When the sheets are so folded, it will be found that there is exposed one cup and one flap, the first of those which form part of a continuous interlocking first sequence or nest of eight sputum cups and flaps, which are followed by, and are interlocked with, a second sequence or nest of eight additional sputum cups and iiaps.

The aforesaid first exposed cup is not intended for use as a depository for sputum. It is to be used exclusively for deposit therein of the flaps as they are successively used to cover the cups after use.

After turning said first exposed ap into the first exposed and unused cup, another cup and iiap are exposed and ready for use. The nest of interlocked sanitary sputum cups are now ready for insertion into the container, with the said second exposed cup and fiap now ready for use, by the deposit therein of sputum. After such use, the exposed flap is folded over the top or aperture of said cup, and into the original first exposed cup, as hereinbefore set forth, whereby the used cup is hermetically sealed, and there are exposed, another cup and flap ready for use, and so on, until you turn the flap over the eighth sputum cup and into the original first cup. Upon turning the flap over the said eighth cup, there will be exposed two cups, with but one exposed fiap. Of said two exposed cups, the left cup only, is to be used for sputum deposit. After such use, the one exposed flap is to be turned over both the used and the unused cups, and into the original first cup. Between the aforesaid two exposed cups there will be found a left flap already turned over and mucilaged to, a contiguous flap. Y

It is this, that interlocks all of the sputum cups'into a sequence, and interlocks the first nest of eight cups with the following nest of eight cups. The aforesaid two flaps glued or mucilaged together, will be found to be the original lower left and the original lower right diagonal half of the original sheet.

Manifestly, the folding of the successive sanitary and antiseptic fiaps over the used cups and into the first exposed cup, results in said first cup sanitarily containing nothingbut a constantly increasing number of said clean sanitary and antiseptic paper iiaps, thus increasingly and progressively augmenting the hermetical sealing feature and the sanitary features of the sputum cups.

The container is preferably to be made of a heavily waxed paper, or of a very light waxed cardboard, or it may be made of any non-porous material or substance, as long as it is sufficiently disinfected, and precludes any absorption of moisture, and admits of sanitary washing. It should conform Ato Vthe shape ofthe sputum cup.

The .chief object of this invention, relates not so much to the container, as to the novel device of sputum cups so constructed that but one cup and one flap are exposed; and upon its use, (by

depositing sputum in the cup, or aperture, and covering the same with the turning over of the fiap), another cup or aperture is exposed and ready for Vthe deposit of sputum, and the flap also is exposed to view, and so on, in sequence, until the last cup or receptacle shall have been used and hermetically sealed. y Y

The need Vof such an invention is further emphasized, by the growing conviction on the part of physicians generally, that grippe and even so-called ordinary colds are contagious, and are therefore communicable. y

Obviously, this invention supplies a need heretofore never met, in that it furnished for very little cost indeed, an interlocked aggregation of sanitary sputum cups, hermetically sealed after use, and so provides a greatly needed means of prevention against the spread of dangerous and often widespread and fatal. contagion, consequent upon sputum which, whendesiccated, diffuses in the air millions of disease-germs which are inhaled, with resulting peril to the health and often with resulting death to the person so infected.

I claim:

An interlocking sequence of triangularly shaped sanitary'and antiseptic sputum cups, consisting of a number of square sheets of absorbent and antiseptic paper, folded with reference to each other, vso as to first expose one pocket and one fiap-and so folded'as to also form a continuous interlocking first sequence of such sputum cups and fiaps, which vare followed by, and are interlocked with a secondY sequence or nest of similar number of sputum cups and flaps, all of which sputum cups and flaps yare so folded and related to each other, that on using one cup, and then closely covering the mouth of the used cup by closely vturning the exposed flap over -said opening and into the aforesaid first exposed cup, another cup and flap are thereby exposed `and ready for use; and in the center of said sequence of sputum pockets and fiaps, and between the aforesaid two sequences of sputum cups and fiaps, there are found one exposed flap and two exposed cups, between which cups and uniting them, are an inward turned right flap which has been coveredby an inward turned left flap, to which it is mucilaged, and which, when so bound together, served to bind together the said two sequences of sputum cups and flaps into one continuous interlocking 'sequence ofV said sputum cups and flaps, substantially as herein described.

MARY WOOD ST. JOHN. 

